A Pretty Girl Has Her First Kiss Stolen By an Equally Handsome Classmate - Episode 1.5

Friday, December 17th

“Wakamatsu, do you have a moment?”

Just as she was about to leave after finishing her test, her homeroom teacher called out to her.

Thinking it was about her duties as class representative, she walked over to the teacher’s desk, but Mr. Yamabe hesitated and said, “Not here.” Realizing it must be about Shizuku Mizuhara, Wakamatsu followed him.

Come to think of it, Mizuhara should be at school today to take her tests.

How was she doing? How did it feel to be back at school after so long?

Without realizing it, Wakamatsu found herself thinking about Mizuhara.

What did Mr. Yamabe want to talk about? Had Mizuhara told him, “Stop sending Wakamatsu to see me”?

Mr. Yamabe opened the door to the student guidance office next to the staff room and gestured for Wakamatsu to enter. Inside was a small room with a desk, chairs, and a small heater. Wakamatsu sat down as prompted, and Mr. Yamabe took a seat across from her.

“Can you keep visiting Mizuhara next week?”

“Well… I don’t mind, but Mizuhara might not be happy about it.”

“Yeah, I’ll take responsibility for that and keep an eye on things.”

He spoke with confidence, but Wakamatsu wasn’t convinced. She didn’t feel like things were going well between her and Mizuhara.

This was her chance to ask the question she had been holding onto for so long.

“Why did you ask me to look after Mizuhara?”

Mizuhara was a classmate, but they had never really talked or spent time together. If anyone was suited for this, it should have been Komazawa or Yamaguchi, who were much closer to her.

“Because I thought you were the right person for the job.”

“But all I do is make Mizuhara angry…”

“Yeah, I heard about that. Mizuhara seemed apologetic about it, though.”

Wakamatsu frowned. She couldn’t imagine Mizuhara feeling sorry about anything.

Seeing her expression, Mr. Yamabe chuckled.

“You’re pretty optimistic and don’t overthink things, right?”

“Huh?” Wakamatsu blinked. Was he insulting her?

“That’s exactly why you’re the right person for Mizuhara right now,” he added.

She didn’t fully understand what he meant, but at least it didn’t sound like he was mocking her.

Mr. Yamabe turned on the small heater at his feet and adjusted it to face her.

“There was a time when I considered studying psychology,” he said.

With his youthful face and gentle, steady way of speaking, Wakamatsu thought he would have been well-suited for it.

“Listening is a form of love.”

He nodded to himself as if chewing over his own words.

“Huh? How so?”

“Just the act of listening affirms the other person.”

Wakamatsu let out an absentminded “Huh.”

“More than words of love, the act of listening is what really matters.”

“Really? I’m not so sure about that…”

“To love someone is to listen to them. And to be loved is to have someone willing to listen to you.”

Was he telling her to just listen to Mizuhara?

“It’s not about finding the best solution or doing what’s expected.”

“Then… what am I supposed to do?”

“You don’t have to do anything.”

It felt like a one-on-one morality lesson.

She needed more time to process his words, but Mr. Yamabe stood up.

He told her to listen, but Mizuhara barely spoke in the first place.

How was she supposed to do anything with that?

“Mizuhara keeps telling me that I’ll never understand her,” Wakamatsu muttered as they stepped into the hallway.

She wanted to hear Mizuhara’s feelings. She wanted to understand her.

But Mizuhara kept rejecting her, calling her annoying.

“You don’t have to understand,” Mr. Yamabe said with a gentle smile.

His calm voice carried a firm certainty, as if telling her, That’s the right answer.

Maybe understanding the other person wasn’t the only way to solve things.

Pondering his words, Wakamatsu headed home.